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And...We're Live! Creative Media Students Get Valuable Experience Through Internship

For Elisabeth Saras, studying Creative Media at Hawai‘i Community College has been “life-changing.”

“This program helps you kind of try different things and really find what works for you,” said Saras, a Creative Media student who is graduating in May. “It gave me the courage and also just the resources to expand on this thing that I’ve always wanted to do but just never thought was possible.”

One of the most rewarding parts of the program has been an internship that Saras and five other Hawai‘i Community College Creative Media students participated in last fall through a “learn and earn” partnership with public access station Nā Leo TV. 

Students performed camera operation, audio engineering, graphics, video engineering, floor directing, as well as editing, scriptwriting, and filming and producing videos. They were thrown into the mix from day, which was a great way to learn, said Saras. 

“From the first production we did I was on camera, operating a camera,” said Saras. “I didn‘t know what I was doing but just having the encouragement, and you know, you learn on the spot and realize what not to do and what to do. I think that’s really important, and that’s what they provided for us.” 

The students earned college credit for their work with the TV station and also will receive a stipend from Nā Leo. Hawai‘i CC and Na Leo plan to run another internship class in fall 2020. 

More About the Creative Media Program

Hawai‘i Community College established its Creative Media associate degree program in 2016, and since then enrollment has grown, new technology is allowing the college to expand the reach of the program, and a new internship is providing valuable hands-on experience.

Saras is one of 51 Creative Media majors at the college. Using state-of-the-art equipment, students learn photography, videography, video editing, graphic design, animation and more. The idea is to provide students with a strong foundation and the power to choose what they want to pursue after graduation.

“If they can get the basics and they learn color theory and composition and do video and photography work, then they can decide what they want to do,” said Steve Parente, a Creative Media lecturer. Graduates can find work as graphic designers, photographers, and more, said Parente. “These are bread-and-butter jobs that are going to be anywhere,” he said.

The Creative Media associate degree was built upon the success of a Digital Media Arts certificate that has been offered at Hawai‘i CC since 2005. The degree offers a higher level of training and the option to transfer to UH Mānoa or UH West O‘ahu bachelor’s degree programs in Creative Media.

Saras is in the process of establishing a photography business and is considering continuing her studies at UH West O‘ahu.

Saras said she likes how broad the major is at Hawai‘i CC and how many things she’s learned, “including drawing, digital painting, animation, graphic design, film, photography.”

“It really gave me such a different perspective on my future,” she said. “Being presented with this amazing alternative, where I get to be creative and work with other amazing creators, has been life-changing.”

To learn more and for a tour of the program, contact Creative Media Program Coordinator Meidor Hu at meidor@hawaii.edu.